Purpose: Procedures to follow when material can't be located in the stacks by a patron or staff although it displays in VIRGO with its home location. Effective date: 2/06/02

Part I. Circulation Procedure

1. User reports item as not on shelf. As feasible, staff immediately search stacks with user (1st search).

Item Not Found: User fills out Search form and staff file form in agreed upon location for Stacks staff. Circulation/Stacks staff check stacks for item (2nd search) within 24 hours of item being reported as not on shelf.

a) Item found. Charge item to pseudo user and place a hold for the user who wants item. Discharge item and place it on hold shelf. User will receive an Available notice.

b) Item not found: staff conduct 3rd stacks search within 3 days following previous search. If item not located, circulation/stacks staff:

• Charge item to Missing
• EDIT ITEM to change Home Location to MISSING.
• Put original location in the COMMENT field
  
• Notify user of search results.
• Place ILL request for user (if requested on Search form)
  
• Note date and number of days on search form.

c) Tally search statistics for Balanced Scorecard on the search stats spreadsheet on your desktop. (The original spreadsheet is on O:\shared\ccc\ missinglost\BSC Search Stats.xls.)

d) At the end of each month report the totals at the bottom of the spreadsheet to MIS ( lsw6y@virginia.edu).

2. Missing reports: Cataloging (currently Janis Kessler) runs a MISSING report on the first of each month. It lists the items that circulation staff have edited to Home Location MISSING. The report is sent to the designated circulation staff member in each library. The missing report is cumulative.

3. Stacks Search: Stacks Search. Within one week of receipt of the MISSING report, circulation/stacks staff search stacks again (4th search).

Item found. Staff discharge the item and EDIT ITEM, changing Home Location to the appropriate library location. Place hold for user, etc., following above procedure.

Item not found. Staff discharge item, charge it to LOST, and change Home Location to LOST.

If Subject Librarian reviews missing list and decides that an item should not be replaced, put NRO and subject librarian's initials in the COMMENT field.

Part II. Order Staff/Selectors Procedure

1. Cataloging staff (Janis Kessler) runs LOST report monthly. LOST report contains a list of items, not BARRED, which have been missing for one month. It is non-cumulative. The report is sent by Cataloging to the Order Unit and to Cataloging staff (currently Cindy Davis). Cataloging waits one month after receipt of the report to do the final LOST CLOSED processing on items.

2. Order Unit searches for cost and availability information for LOST books. LOST items are searched and ordered before BARRED items since BARRED items are often returned within two months. LOST items have replacement copy ordered. LOST item records are shadowed in WebCat.

A. Automatic order for LOST is funded UL-LOST

B. Parameters for automatic order:

• Book, in and out-of-print, all dates, all languages, $250 and under, theses, and dissertations.
• For books, latest edition available will be ordered except for literature classifications, and Fine Arts books. Missing/Lost edition of literature and Fine Arts books will be replaced whenever possible.
• Number of existing copies: If two copies, not includeing the LOST or a Barred copy, exist anywhere in the University libraries, with one of those two in the University of Virginia Library, title will not be reordered. If lost item is Ivy and another copy exist in Ivy, item will not be reordered. Remaining Ivy copy will be returned to circulating collection. If two copies are Blandy or Mt. Lake, another copy will be ordered.
• Items not fitting parameters and not reordered automatically have NRO and reason and/or initioals entered in the record's comment field by Acquisitions staff or, infrequently, by selector.

3. Following order, report is sent to appropriate library for review by Selectors.

A. Selectors are to review within one month list of LOST titles not reordered.

B. If Selector wishes to order books costing $250 or less, 4th year thesis, or other items not fitting the parameters or automatic order, or not usually ordered centrally, e.g., music scores, replacement is funded UL-LOST. Replacement for items over $250 is funded with academic department funds

C. For titles selected to order, selector places notation in report to side of item and sends report to Acquisitions, Dawn Waller. For items over $250, selector also supplies fund code to be used.

D. Order unit searches these items and places orders. If new copy ordered, it is ordered either on another line on the record or as another edition.

Part III. Cataloging Procedure

After 2-3 months, Cataloging maintenance unit processes all items that still show as LOST. Home location is changed to LOSTCLOSED . Lost statistics are taken. Holdings are removed from OCLC after appropriate waiting period if item is not reordered.